William Kamkwamba.

So I recently read this book called the Boy who Harnessed the Wind. I heard about it from some little book magazine that one of my coworkers gave me, and it was one of those books that I didn't really know ALL that much about. But it sounded slightly interesting, and it was about Malawi, so I figured it would be slightly informative...right??

So according to Goodreads, "William Kamkwamba, the youthful author of this book, was born in Malawi, an African nation best known for its harrowing poverty, its AIDS epidemic, and its long-term food crisis. In 2001, William was just 14 years old when the country was struck by the greatest famine within memory. With his family now too poor to pay his $80-a-year tuition, this eager learner was forced to leave school. Against those staggering odds, he continued to read, learn, and experiment. Inspired by a few old school textbooks, he devised a primitive working windmill, cobbled together from bicycle parts, blue-gum trees, and other makeshift scraps. With his homemade invention, he gave his family and himself electricity and a new start. Inspiring and refreshing as the wind."

The book was good, but some bits weren't quite as entertaining as the others. But I must say I really enjoyed reading his thoughts about Malawi. He writes about his country, the people, the language, the famine, the struggle, the lack of education, and his desire for change. As he wrote about Malawi, I couldn't help but close my eyes and imagine myself back there, walking on the red soil, listening to the sweet sound of laughter.

While reading William's story I was reminded of all the stories that are just like his. He had to drop out of school because his family couldn't afford the school fees, along with so many other families. And then came the famine and countless people died and many were barely making ends meet. So eventually things take a turn for the better and someone gets word of William's invention and things start happening fast for him and he gets flown (first flight ever) to a TED global conference somewhere in Africa, and this is where he sees a computer, the internet, a blackberry, and a digital camera all for the first time. Did I mention he was in his 20s? This is the case for soo many people, but I can't even recall what age I was when I first laid eyes on these gadgets. I am sure if I really sat down and thought about it and did some research on the actual products I could figure it out...but you get the point!

In the book William writes about this conference... "The most amazing thing about TED wasn't the internet, the gadgets, or even the breakfast buffets with three kinds of meat, plus eggs and pastries and fruit that I dream about each night. It was the other Africans who stood onstage each day and shared their stories and vision of how to make our continent a better place for our people." He later goes on to quote someone else and states, "Africans bend what little they have to their will every day. Using creativity, they overcome Africa's challenges. Where the world sees trash, Africa recycles. Where the world sees junk, Africa sees rebirth."

At the end of the book, in the epilogue, William writes, "My fellow students and I talk about creating a new kind of Africa, a place of leaders instead of victims, a home of innovation rather than charity." What a beautiful image this paints, and I must say I am anxious for this new kind of Africa.

So William Kamkwamba is kind of a big deal! Check out his profile on TED and his talks.

When he was just 14 years old, Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba built his family an electricity-generating windmill from spare parts, working from rough plans he found in a library book.



At age 14, in poverty and famine, a Malawian boy built a windmill to power his family's home. Now at 22, William Kamkwamba, who speaks at TED, here, for the second time, shares in his own words the moving tale of invention that changed his life.